Monday, December 21, 2009
DBGB Kitchen - Visited 12/21/09 3 Forks
DBGB Kitchen 299 Bowery, New York, NY 10003
Instead of buying each other x-mas gifts, Dan and I decided to just go to a nice dinner in the city. So I chose DBGB Kitchen - the latest Daniel Boulud restaurant in the east village. I was a bit nervous about eating there after reading several comments that the service was bad and the food too small. The only reservation I could get on Opentable was for 5:45pm. We arrived a few minutes late but the hostess did not seem to mind. The space is pretty cool; it's a very open layout with an industrial look to it. We started the meal with the Beef Bone Marrow ($13); it was a long piece of bone with the marrow garnished with onion, celery seed, rye toast with the crust cut off and watercress wrapped in pastrami. I've had bone marrow before (Dan hadn't) and I thought it was pretty good - as Dan said, it tasted like beef flavored jello. DBGB also has a great list of unusual beers - I started with a Six Point Black Wheat ($7) and Dan had a Six Point Oatmeal Stout ($7). Both quite tasty. For our main meal, I had the Frenchie Burger ($17), which consisted of pork belly and arugula on a burger with fries. Dan had the Piggie ($19), which had pulled pork and spicy mayo on a burger. I had read on Yelp that people complained that the burgers were too small - I actually thought it was the right amount of burger. Sometimes other places' burgers are too big and too much food. I thought this was the right amount. I thought the fries were just ok, nothing to write home about, but decent enough to go with the burger. I then ordered the Professor Fritz beer ($7), which is a light wheat beer with a shot of cassis. It was quite refreshing and delicious. Dan got the Engine Oil beer ($7), which was not really my cup of tea. Even though we were pretty full, we felt it was necessary to split a dessert to cap off the night. So we split a pear ice cream sandwich ($9), which had pear ice cream, cubed pear and hard sugar-like cookies. It was a nice finish to a pretty filling meal. Although now I've been home for a bit, I am really thirsty! It makes me wonder if the meal was too salty.
Dos Toros - Visited 12/11/2009 - 3 Forks
Dos Toros 137 4th Ave (between 13th and 14th Street), New York, NY
Finally decided to check this place out as I have been reading about it for a while. Ever since I went to San Fran and had a burrito in the Mission district, I can not get those giant yummy burritos out of my mind. While it's fairly well known that NYC is not known for great mexican food, one can always hope that something will change that. Dos Toros comes close, but doesn't hit it right on the head. Dos Toros is a small shop that's more of a take-out joint than actual restaurant. There are a few small tables and stools but otherwise, I suspect most people just order and go. I ordered a carne asada burrito with black beans, pico de gallo, sour cream, and medium spicy and large coke ($10). Guac (which I usually get but didn't this time) is an extra $.92, which is reasonable given that Chipotle charges $2 or something like that. The shell was definitely moist and delicious.. for the cheese, instead of sprinkling a handful of mixed cheeses, they put a full rectangle of cheese on the bottom layer and then the hot shell and food melts the cheese as you eat it. It's definitely a full meal and better than most of the sit-down mexican places that I have been to in the city. It gives Chipotle (my general take out fav) a definite run for its money. I would recommend it if you're in the neighborhood and I hope they expand to other locations in the city.
Finally decided to check this place out as I have been reading about it for a while. Ever since I went to San Fran and had a burrito in the Mission district, I can not get those giant yummy burritos out of my mind. While it's fairly well known that NYC is not known for great mexican food, one can always hope that something will change that. Dos Toros comes close, but doesn't hit it right on the head. Dos Toros is a small shop that's more of a take-out joint than actual restaurant. There are a few small tables and stools but otherwise, I suspect most people just order and go. I ordered a carne asada burrito with black beans, pico de gallo, sour cream, and medium spicy and large coke ($10). Guac (which I usually get but didn't this time) is an extra $.92, which is reasonable given that Chipotle charges $2 or something like that. The shell was definitely moist and delicious.. for the cheese, instead of sprinkling a handful of mixed cheeses, they put a full rectangle of cheese on the bottom layer and then the hot shell and food melts the cheese as you eat it. It's definitely a full meal and better than most of the sit-down mexican places that I have been to in the city. It gives Chipotle (my general take out fav) a definite run for its money. I would recommend it if you're in the neighborhood and I hope they expand to other locations in the city.Sharaku - Visited 12/20/2009 - 2.5 Forks
8 Stuyvesant St (between 11st and 12th Street), New York
Stopped by this sushi place while x-mas shopping in the city. Dan and I were running all over the east village and needed to stop by Union Square next when we realized how hungry we were. While I had wanted to try out a couple of other places that have been on my list (Porchetta, Luke's Lobster, Macbar, just to name a few), this was right down the street and close to where we needed to go next. The wait staff was pretty friendly and the inside is kind of your average sushi joint, although a bit bigger in size. The menu actually seemed more hot food focused as opposed to sushi focused, but that was ok. We ordered a bottle of unfiltered cold sake ($17), edamame ($3), spicy salmon roll ($4), yellowtail/scallion roll ($4) and a large spicy seafood don ($15.75) to split. We ordered the sake thinking that we haven't had it before but lo and behold, it's the same unfiltered sake in the little blue bottle that we get everywhere! At least we know it's good. The edamame were cold and salty, but they were still fine to eat. The rolls were actually pretty decent. I generally like my spicy rolls with spicy mayo, but this kind of roll is the chopped up salmon with spices in it. The rolls were decent...they seemed fresh and the size of them were not too big but not incredibly tiny. The spicy seafood don was something neither of us have had before but it's basically chopped up spicy salmon and tuna piled on top of a bed of rice - it's like a large spicy roll without the seaweed. While it wasn't ground-breaking, it was pretty enjoyable to just be eating the best parts of a spicy roll. All in all, it's a good place to go if you're in the 'hood but it's not a destination restaurant by any means.
Stopped by this sushi place while x-mas shopping in the city. Dan and I were running all over the east village and needed to stop by Union Square next when we realized how hungry we were. While I had wanted to try out a couple of other places that have been on my list (Porchetta, Luke's Lobster, Macbar, just to name a few), this was right down the street and close to where we needed to go next. The wait staff was pretty friendly and the inside is kind of your average sushi joint, although a bit bigger in size. The menu actually seemed more hot food focused as opposed to sushi focused, but that was ok. We ordered a bottle of unfiltered cold sake ($17), edamame ($3), spicy salmon roll ($4), yellowtail/scallion roll ($4) and a large spicy seafood don ($15.75) to split. We ordered the sake thinking that we haven't had it before but lo and behold, it's the same unfiltered sake in the little blue bottle that we get everywhere! At least we know it's good. The edamame were cold and salty, but they were still fine to eat. The rolls were actually pretty decent. I generally like my spicy rolls with spicy mayo, but this kind of roll is the chopped up salmon with spices in it. The rolls were decent...they seemed fresh and the size of them were not too big but not incredibly tiny. The spicy seafood don was something neither of us have had before but it's basically chopped up spicy salmon and tuna piled on top of a bed of rice - it's like a large spicy roll without the seaweed. While it wasn't ground-breaking, it was pretty enjoyable to just be eating the best parts of a spicy roll. All in all, it's a good place to go if you're in the 'hood but it's not a destination restaurant by any means.Fette Sau - Visited 12/19/2009 - Five Forks
Fette Sau 354 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
After the disastrous experience at Hill Country, all I really wanted was REAL BBQ. I have been to Fette Sau many many times and it has never disappointed me. The menu changes up frequently but it's always good and affordable. The key is to go early because when they run out of a certain food, that's it for the night. We got there around 6:45pm on the day of the blizzard, but it was surprisingly crowded. Sadly, they did not have the St. Louis style ribs...we always seem to miss out on the ribs when we have gone lately. Instead, we got 1/4 lb Glazed Ham ($15/lb), 1/4 lb Pork Shoulder ($16/lb), 1/2 lb Pork Belly ($16/lb), and 1/4 Pastrami ($16/lb), 4 sausage links ($2.50/each), baked beans, potato salad and corn bread. There were 4 of us, but my portion (the ham, shoulder and beans) cost $13! The most exciting thing I discovered is that they now take American Express! I know, it seems kind of lame to be excited by it, but now that means I can try to convince my boss to have dinners there and expense them (we can only go places where they accept AmEx). Drink wise, we got a half growler of IPA and Dan and I each got a whiskey ($13/each). What can I say, the food is outstanding there. The pork belly was perfectly fatty and delicious, shoulder was moist, and the sauces they have on the table complemented the food great. Dan and I have been on a whiskey kick lately, and we have found that Fette Sau has one of the best and most affordable whiskey line-ups in the city. I had the Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit and he had the Elijah Craig. The only bad things I have to say about the Sau is that A) your clothes might smell of BBQ when you leave and B) for anyone who doesn't eat meat, there are almost zero options (even the baked beans have meat in it). But it's a small price to pay for perfection. Plus the hipster crowd is always fun to watch.
After the disastrous experience at Hill Country, all I really wanted was REAL BBQ. I have been to Fette Sau many many times and it has never disappointed me. The menu changes up frequently but it's always good and affordable. The key is to go early because when they run out of a certain food, that's it for the night. We got there around 6:45pm on the day of the blizzard, but it was surprisingly crowded. Sadly, they did not have the St. Louis style ribs...we always seem to miss out on the ribs when we have gone lately. Instead, we got 1/4 lb Glazed Ham ($15/lb), 1/4 lb Pork Shoulder ($16/lb), 1/2 lb Pork Belly ($16/lb), and 1/4 Pastrami ($16/lb), 4 sausage links ($2.50/each), baked beans, potato salad and corn bread. There were 4 of us, but my portion (the ham, shoulder and beans) cost $13! The most exciting thing I discovered is that they now take American Express! I know, it seems kind of lame to be excited by it, but now that means I can try to convince my boss to have dinners there and expense them (we can only go places where they accept AmEx). Drink wise, we got a half growler of IPA and Dan and I each got a whiskey ($13/each). What can I say, the food is outstanding there. The pork belly was perfectly fatty and delicious, shoulder was moist, and the sauces they have on the table complemented the food great. Dan and I have been on a whiskey kick lately, and we have found that Fette Sau has one of the best and most affordable whiskey line-ups in the city. I had the Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit and he had the Elijah Craig. The only bad things I have to say about the Sau is that A) your clothes might smell of BBQ when you leave and B) for anyone who doesn't eat meat, there are almost zero options (even the baked beans have meat in it). But it's a small price to pay for perfection. Plus the hipster crowd is always fun to watch.
Hill Country - Visited 12/18/2009 - 1.5 Forks
Hill Country - 30 West 26th Street NY, NY 10010
I visited this BBQ place for a friend's birthday party last friday and conceptually it sounded like a great place. After all, who doesn't like BBQ? The atmosphere was like a old style Texas country BBQ restaurant - lots of wood and country music going on. When you enter, they give you a "meal ticket" where they tally up your drinks and food and then you hand your ticket over when you leave. They had an ok line up of beer, whiskey and cocktails. I stuck with a Blue Moon ($6) while secretly craving a Texas Rose ($11). We go upstairs to the market to order our meat and I was surprised by the prices, most of the meats were around $22+. They had brisket (moist and lean), ribs (beef and pork), sausage (for $6.50/each), pork shoulder and lots of sides. I decided to go with .70 lbs of moist brisket ($15) and a side of baked beans ($5.50) while Dan got pork ribs and shoulder (total $16). The brisket was a bit too fatty for me and the ribs were very difficult to eat. To me ribs should fall off the bone when you eat them. These required a fork and knife and I still couldn't get most of the meat off. Overall, I was pretty disappointed in the food and the prices. When I checked out, I had spent $40 and Dan has spent $25. You can definitely get much better BBQ for much cheaper in the city.
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